Ira Glass' REINVENTING RADIO to Appear at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 1/19

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will present Reinventing Radio: An Evening with Ira Glass on Saturday, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m. Tickets are available for $49, $59 or $69 through www.ScottsdalePerformingArts.org or (480) 499-TKTS (8587).

Ira Glass is the host and creator of the quirky, hit public-radio program This American Life, which premiered on Chicago's WBEZ in 1995 and is now heard on hundreds of public-radio stations each week by more than 1.7 million listeners. Most weeks, This American Life is the most popular podcast in the country, with more than a half-million people downloading each episode. The show also airs each week on the CBC in Canada and on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's radio network.

Under Glass' editorial direction, This American Life has won the highest honors for broadcasting and journalistic excellence, including several Peabody and DuPont-Columbia awards. The American Journalism Review declared that the show is "at the vanguard of a journalistic revolution."

Mixing taped excerpts and music live onstage, Glass will offer a behind-the-scenes look at This American Life and its unique approach to broadcast journalism, including some of his favorite stories, where he and the staff find them and what makes them so compelling. Glass also will take questions from the audience.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts is located at 7380 E. Second St. in downtown Scottsdale, four blocks south of Indian School Road and three blocks east of Scottsdale Road. Free parking is available in the public parking garage located to the west of Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts on Wells Fargo Avenue. Additional free parking is available at the Old Town Parking Corral at East Second Street and Brown Avenue and at the Civic Center Library parking garage located on Drinkwater Boulevard at East Second Street.

Attend with family and friends, or bring a group from your business, civic or religious organization. Save $4 per ticket and at least $15 in facility fees when purchasing 10 or more tickets to the same event in one order. Call 480-499-TKTS (8587) for more information and to order tickets. The group organizer also will receive two free tickets ($83 value) to see any one Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel performance.

One of the premier performing-arts halls in the western United States, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts showcases a diverse season of dance, jazz, classical and world music, theater and film from around the world. More than 1,000 indoor and outdoor performances, educational programs, festivals and other events are presented and hosted at the Center each year serving 200,000+ visitors and contributing substantially to Scottsdale's high quality of life and vibrant arts scene. The Center's education and outreach programs reach more than 20,000 children and adults each year. Most performances take place in the state-of-the-art, 853-seat Virginia G. Piper Theater, recognized for its intimacy, superior acoustics and comfort. Additional venues include the 137-seat Stage 2 and neighboring 2,000-capacity Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts is located on a beautifully landscaped, 21-acre urban park, a short walk from Scottsdale's Old Town and gallery districts.HOW TO REACH US